West Virginia received its local census data on March 23, 2011. The state grew a meager 2.5 percent with most growth by county seen in the northeast part of the state. The state's largest cities showed decline: Charleston decreased by 3.8 percent, Huntington decreased by 4.5 percent, Parkersburg decreased by 4.9 percent, Morgantown grew by 10.6 percent, and Wheeling decreased by 9.3 percent.<ref>[http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn114.html ''U.S. Census Bureau'', "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers West Virginia's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," March 23, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2012]</ref>

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West Virginia received its local census data on March 23, 2011. The state grew a meager 2.5 percent with most growth by county seen in the northeast part of the state. The state's largest cities showed decline: Charleston decreased by 3.8 percent, Huntington decreased by 4.5 percent, Parkersburg decreased by 4.9 percent, Morgantown grew by 10.6 percent, and Wheeling decreased by 9.3 percent.<ref>[http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn114.html ''U.S. Census Bureau'', "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers West Virginia's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," March 23, 2011. Accessed August 20, 2012]</ref>

The 2011 redistricting period was notable for the proposal of eliminating the state's [[State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts|multi-member districts]], which ultimately failed. The Legislature passed plans in early August; Democratic Governor [[Ray Tomblin]] vetoed the House plan on August 17, 2011, calling for another session to begin the next day. On August 21, the Legislature approved revisions to the House plan, and struck down numerous Republican amendment including the replacement of the multi-member system with 100 single-member constituencies. Tomblin signed the plan on Friday, September 2, 2011.

The 2011 redistricting period was notable for the proposal of eliminating the state's [[State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts|multi-member districts]], which ultimately failed. The Legislature passed plans in early August; Democratic Governor [[Ray Tomblin]] vetoed the House plan on August 17, 2011, calling for another session to begin the next day. On August 21, the Legislature approved revisions to the House plan, and struck down numerous Republican amendment including the replacement of the multi-member system with 100 single-member constituencies. Tomblin signed the plan on Friday, September 2, 2011.

Sessions

Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution establishes when the West Virginia State Legislature, of which the House of Delegates is a part, is to be in session. Section 18 of Article VI states that the Legislature is to convene its regular session on the second Wednesday of January of each year. Once every four years, on the year in which the Governor of West Virginia is inaugurated, the Legislature holds a thirty day recess after the first day of the session. This recess is designed to give the Governor time to prepare a budget.

Section 22 of Article VI limits regular sessions of the Legislature to sixty days. Regular sessions can be extended by a two-thirds vote of the members of both legislative houses.

Section 19 of Article VI gives the Governor of West Virginia the power to convene the Legislature into special session. Section 19 also requires the Governor to convene a special session if it is requested by three-fifths of the members of each legislative house.

2012

2011

In 2011, the House was in regular session from January 12 through March 18.[5] An August 1 special session was called by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to pass legislation related to redistricting and other topics.[6] A second special session began on August 15, to replace the House of Delegates' redistricting plan. The House's plan, which passed during the first special session on August 1, must be vetoed because of errors. The plan contains duplicate voter precinct populations for districts in both Kanawha and Morgan counties.[7]

Cost-benefit analyses

The Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative released a report in July 2013 which indicated that cost-benefit analysis in policymaking led to more effective uses of public funds. Looking at data from 2008 through 2011, the study's authors found that some states were more likely to use cost-benefit analysis while others were facing challenges and lagging behind the rest of the nation. Among the challenges states faced were a lack of time, money and technical skills needed to conduct comprehensive cost-benefit analyses. West Virginia was one of 11 states that made rare use of cost-benefit analyses in policy and budget processes.[12]

Ethics and transparency

Following the Money report

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer-focused nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., released its annual report on state transparency websites in April 2014. The report, entitled "Following the Money," measured how transparent and accountable state websites are with regard to state government spending.[13] According to the report, West Virginia received a grade of C and a numerical score of 72, indicating that West Virginia was "middling" in terms of transparency regarding state spending.[13]

2010

All Delegates are up for election every two years. As a result of the primary election, the top vote-getting candidates for each party earn a place on the ticket in the general election. For example, if two Delegate positions are open for a district, the top two primary vote-getters for each party are eligible for the general election ballot.

Voters who come to the polls on the general Election Day will vote for the number of Delegate positions for their District. Note that a candidate must have received at least one vote in the primary in order to be on the ticket for the general election.

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was January 30, 2010. The primary Election Day was May 11, 2010.

In 2010, the candidates for state house raised a total of $4,862,057 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:[15]

2000

Elections for the office of West Virginia House of Delegates consisted of a primary election on May 9, 2000, and a general election on November 7, 2000.

During the 2000 election, the total value of contributions to Senate candidates was $3,601,514. The top 10 contributors were:[20]

2000 Donors, West Virginia House of Delegates

Donor

Amount

Susman, Sally

$92,419

West Virginia Education Association

$84,500

West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

$57,750

West Virginia Bankers Association

$52,250

West Virginia Laborers District Council

$50,500

Smith, Lisa D

$50,500

West Virginia Hospital Association

$46,000

Gould, Robert John

$41,000

Mathews, Rebecca

$34,800

Nelson, William C

$34,650

Qualifications

Section 13 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person holding any other lucrative office or employment under this state, the United States, or any foreign government; no member of Congress; and no person who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature."

Vacancies

In West Virginia, the Governor is responsible for filling all vacancies in the house.[21][22]

The executive committee of the political party that holds the seat must submit a list of three candidates to the Governor. The list must be submitted to the Governor within 15 days of the vacancy. The Governor must make a selection within five days of receiving the list. The person that is selected to fill the seat serves the remainder of the unfilled term.[22]

Redistricting

The Legislature is responsible for redistricting in a summer session after Census data comes in; the Governor holds veto power.

2010 census

West Virginia received its local census data on March 23, 2011. The state grew a meager 2.5 percent with most growth by county seen in the northeast part of the state. The state's largest cities showed decline: Charleston decreased by 3.8 percent, Huntington decreased by 4.5 percent, Parkersburg decreased by 4.9 percent, Morgantown grew by 10.6 percent, and Wheeling decreased by 9.3 percent.[23]

The 2011 redistricting period was notable for the proposal of eliminating the state's multi-member districts, which ultimately failed. The Legislature passed plans in early August; Democratic Governor Ray Tomblin vetoed the House plan on August 17, 2011, calling for another session to begin the next day. On August 21, the Legislature approved revisions to the House plan, and struck down numerous Republican amendment including the replacement of the multi-member system with 100 single-member constituencies. Tomblin signed the plan on Friday, September 2, 2011.

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

Throughout every year from 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the West Virginia State House of Representatives. The West Virginia House of Representatives is one of 18 state Houses that was Democratic for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. West Virginia was under Democratic trifectas for the final 13 years.

Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of West Virginia state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. West Virginia never finished higher than 48th in any year of the study.

Chart displaying the partisanship of West Virginia government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).